UWA Controversy

Last year following a review of the University of West Alabama by the Southern Association of Colleges, the school's accreditation level was renewed for ten years. Basically what this means is that things at the university were in good condition and the it remained eligible to receive federal funding.

As a followup in the accreditation process, a group from the SAC recently visited the campus to review the relationship between members of the board of trustees. With the group's review report set to be issued later this month, that's where some school officials say some problems could arise.

"Well, hopefully there won't be any penalty, but there are some that they can assess, such as probation or a warning. If this happens, we will have time to fix the problem before another review," said UWA president Dr. Richard Holland.

Meanwhile, thirteen members of UWA's boards of trustees met again at different times and in different locations. Seven of the members met Monday morning, followed by four others in the afternoon.

The split in the board was sparked by the legality of a appointment made in March, that some members disputed.

Currently, Mann Minus, who was chairman at the time of the March meeting, says he's still the head of the board. But some board members say that at the meeting in question, Tom Umphrey was appointed chairman. With the question of who exactly is chairman of the board still unclear, Minus has filed a lawsuit in Montgomery.

The lawsuit is set to come up in court in February 2004. Both factions of the board have scheduled future meeting times. The group chaired by Mann Minus will meet on Jan. 19, while the group chaired by Tom Umphrey is set to meet on the first Monday in March.

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